Where the Good Way Lies

This is a sermon I composed for a class on "Images of God in the Bible" for Dr. Lauren Winner. The class was held in June of 2018 at the School of Theology at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. I share it here in hopes that you find it helpful to explore one of the coolest images of Christ in the Bible.

“Where the Good Way Lies”

Stephen P. West

“Thus

says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask

for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest

for your souls. But they said, ‘we will not walk in it’. Also I raised up

sentinels for you: ‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We

will not give heed’.” - Jeremiah 6:16

Sometimes you choose an image,

and sometimes it chooses you. A couple of weeks ago, I was pondering what in

the world I was going to do for this class when I stumbled upon the Sewanee

Natural Bridge (when I say I stumbled upon it, I mean that both literally and

figuratively).

I had missed a turn and there it

was, a massive bridge made of rock, as solid as ... a rock. It stood on the

edge of the woods, a high stone path protruding from the ground. It’s stunning

beauty resembled the ancient aqueducts of Greece. This path was not designed by

utilitarian humans to go from one place to the next. It was crafted by our

Creator to stand tall. It was indeed a “high” way, an enduring way.

Jesus said “I am the way.”[i] It’s interesting that that

the Greek for way, hodos, in the New Testament almost always means

something more tangible than what we think. It’s not just a method, process,

procedure, or technique. It is a street or path, a roadside or route. The magi

“returned to their county by another route (hodos).”[ii] We hear “a voice

of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord (hodos).”[iii] “Take no bag for the

journey” (hodos).[iv]

After standing in awe of

the natural bridge for a few moments, I began to explore this high, stone

path through the woods. I could easily walk under it and eventually climbed to

the top to walk across it. It was immeasurable and immovable.

As a United Methodist, I

thought of my denomination’s “Commission on a Way Forward.” I know

we’re going somewhere, and I know not where, but this natural bridge is

reminding me how we are going to get there.

Christ is the way.

It’s funny how people add

the word “only” in front of that statement, as if Jesus didn’t clarify his

exclusivity enough. There’s not even a “the” in the Greek. Jesus said, “I am

WAY.” He is the personification of the path, the embodiment of the expedition,

the incarnation of the excursion! Christ is a road trip indeed.

Sometimes the way of God

is a “high road,” and sometimes the way is a “low road” (a hidden road, that

is).

God as the “high road” is

easy to imagine. Highway imagery is everywhere in the Bible. In Old Testament

times, “highway” meant exactly that ... it was a road built up, raised from its

surroundings so ruts and depressions did not become places where water collects

and holes form into “watercourses.”[v] The technology we use now,

including shaping a paved road so that the center is slightly higher than the

edges to help with water runoff, has been around a long time.

In Biblical times, local

roads were just beaten paths, so a highway was pretty special and took a lot of

effort. “Build up the highway, clear it of stones,” Isaiah says in chapter 62.[vi] “Build up, build up,

prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way” says Isaiah 57.[vii]

I live near Birmingham,

Alabama where two major interstates, I-59 and I-20, come together at what is

not-so-affectionately called “spaghetti junction.” Not long ago an eighteen

wheeler fell off the top ramp onto the highway below and exploded, making a

huge mess.[viii] (8) Finally, last year,

they started reconstructing it.[ix] I’ve always wanted them

to fix it ... until now. It’s taking forever, and I miss a turn

every other time I drive through there. Sudden darts of the car are required to

manage the latest temporary turn lane.

I have no idea how road

construction works, and trust me, I’ve been trying to figure out what they are

doing at spaghetti junction. I’ve concluded that it’s way above my head (again,

I’m speaking both literally and figuratively).

But what I have learned

about road construction is this. It requires a whole lot of planning, design,

and earthwork before you even start paving.[x]

First, the

building of a highway requires exhaustive plans by a relentless planner. Next

the contractor builds embankments using cuts and fills. Then a grader or

bulldozer comes and pushes dirt. Leveling the bumps and filling in dips creates

a surface that will last. After that, the screened dirt is sprayed with water

and compacted. During this stage, they install drains and sewers. As we have

said, the center of the road is made higher than the edges so water will run

off. Drainage is critical for life expectancy of the pavement.

All this work must

then pass strict inspections. Then the contractor places gravel in twelve–inch

layers on the road bed. Workers moisten and compact each layer. Over and over,

layers are added and compacted until the road bed reaches the height required.

All of this is

before anything is paved. Wow.

I also learned

that road construction companies boast of what they call “Context

Sensitive Solutions”[xi] Context sensitive? God is

that personal with you and with me.

The psalmist

sings, “lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness ... make your way straight

before me.”[xii] God who is our path is

also our path maker. God will diligently work to lay a road before you,

perhaps especially for you. God is the chief strategist with a hard had,

discerning and planning and analyzing all the way.

Like any smart road

planner, God considers crash statistics[xiii] when making a plan. And

oh, do I ever have crash statistics on the road of my life. Yet with the

diligence of grace, God makes a way.

Sometimes the way of God

is a high road. But sometimes it’s a low road (a hidden path).

I have been fascinated by

a Vermont government guide entitled “How to Find Ancient Roads.” Written for

aspiring road historians, it gives guidance on how to find and map historic

road locations that might just lie beneath your town.

I imagined using this

guide to search for God, and the advice in the publication made perfect sense.

It noted we should expect setbacks but “go back to it and find the rhythm in

it.”[xiv] It mentions that the

project goes better if you have help from others in mapping it. It emphasizes

keeping a journal and thoroughly, systematic searching.

And listen to this. It

notes that “it is not a job for the weak of heart. This task will take

organization, commitment, a few tools, and a good deal of time, more than you

think.”[xv] The printed guide

describes the basic tools (spiritual disciplines, if you will) of road records,

maps and how to find them, metes and bounds, local history, deeds, and

topography. I reflected on the emphasis on topography. Perhaps my topography is

the compilation of life experience that tells you where a “natural place” for a

road would be.

As if to encourage the

saints, the guide concludes “Do not be surprised to discover you can’t find all

the answers from your hard work ... The reward is small victories, the long,

hard-earned discovery ... You could be breaking a genetic code or opening a

long-lost pharoah’s tomb, for the exhilaration you will feel when you make that

wondrous discovery.”[xvi]

God indeed gives joy to

those who search until they find the path already laid out before them in the

mystery of grace.

Whether you experience God

as a protruding path or a hidden way, a high road or low road, God is an

ancient path. We can walk on it and find rest for our souls. I know that sounds

like an oxymoron since you don’t rest much when you are walking.

But that’s just it ... we

never arrive. I’ll never get “there” but Jesus, who said “come follow me,”

wasn’t talking about a destination. He was talking about a path, and it’s the

path of Peter and Paul, Martha and Mary. It’s the ancient path so many have

walked on before. Just being on the path brings rest for the weary soul.

Maybe someday I’ll get to

hike the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. In the

meantime, it’s my fourth year here on the mountain. I’ve almost finished hiking

or biking all 26 miles of the Perimeter Trail. Almost. Last week, I did one of the

hardest parts between the Memorial Cross and Morgan’s Steep.

With our class in mind, I

pondered the strange concept of walking on God. If God is the way, the path,

the trail, who am I to walk on it?

Then my mind wandered to

the Irish blessing, “may the road rise to meet you.” God does that. That’s

grace.

[i] John 14:5

[ii] Matthew 2:12

[iii] Mark 1:3

[iv] Matthew 10:10

[v] Mark Morgan “Roads in Old Testament Times,” Bible Tales, September 17, 2018, found

at https://www.bibletales.online/roads-in-oldtestament-times/?doing_wp_cron=1529773596.3647229671478271484375

[vi] Isaiah 62:1

[vii] Isaiah 57:14

[viii]

Kayla Gladney,

“18-wheeler goes up in flames on I-20/5 9 North in Fairfield,” found at http://www.cbs42.com/news/local/18-wheeler-goes-up-in-flames-on-i-2059-north-in-fairfield/906134781

[ix] Alabama Department of Transportation,

“I-59/I-20 Bridge Replacement”, found at https://rp.dot.state.al.us/I59_20/

[x] Michigan Department of Transportation, “MDOT”

website, found at https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615-129011--,00.html

[xi]

Ibid

[xii] Psalm 5:8

[xiii]

“MDOT” website

[xiv] Paul Gillies, “How to Find Ancient

Roads,” The Vermont Institute for Government Research Guide(February

2006), found at https://www.uvm.edu/crs/resources/citizens/ancientroads.pdf

[xv]

Ibid

[xvi]

Ibid

Originally at Musings of a Musical Preacher Read the original ↗